currenciesfandomcom-20200213-history
United States
|demonym= American |currency= United States dollar |estab1name= |estab1time= July 4, 1776 |estab2name= |estab2time= September 3, 1783 |estab3name= |estab3time= June 21, 1788 |GDP-PPP-total= $15.065 trillion (2011) |GDP-PPP-pc= $48,147 (2011) |GDP-nomin-total= $15.065 trillion (2011) |GDP-nomin-pc= $48,147 (2011) }} The United States of America, also referred to as the United States, U.S., U.S.A., or America, is a country located mostly North America comprising of and one . The 48 contiguous states are bordered by Canada to the north, Mexico to the south, the to the east and the to the west. The only states not included in the contiguous United States are and Hawaii. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy with an estimated GDP of $14.780 trillion (23% of the nominal global GDP and 20% of global GDP at purchasing power parity). Etymology :For more information, see wikipedia:United States#Etymology During 1507, German , produced a world map on which he named the lands of the " ", after Italian explorer, . The British colonies first used the country's modern name in the 1776 , which declares the country the "unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America". On November 15, 1777, the adopted the , which states "The Stile of this Confederacy shall be 'The United States of America'." The Franco-American treaties of 1778 used "United States of North America", but from July 11, 1778, "United States of America" was used on the country's bills of exchange, and has been the official name since. The short form, "United States" is also standard. Other common forms include the "U.S.", the "USA", and "America". Colloquial names include the "U.S. of A." and internationally, the "States". " ", derived from , was once a common name for the United States, and is featured in "District of Colombia". History The first people known to have settled in the United States were , having immigrated from Asia to the America's through a that connected Alaska to , Russia. During the 16th century, , , , , , and communities were established in the present-day United States. In 1607, the Kingdom of Great Britain established British America. After several laws were passed by Britain after the , a number of citizens of the territory rebelled, which lead to the , lasting from 1775 to 1783, when the United States was declared a under terms of the . The new country began as a , but in 1789, a new was developed, turning the United States into a . Afterwards, the United States had claimed land from Britain ceded under terms of the Treaty of Paris. During 1803, the was bought from France by , which greatly expanded the area of the United States. A few years later, due to tensions between the allies of the United States, Britain and France, the began, and ended a few years later in 1815 after limited US involvement. As the United States expanded to the west, tension was caused on issue of between the northern and southern states. In 1861, several states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, which resulted in the . When the war ended in 1865, slavery had been abolished and the seceded states returned to the union. In 1917, the United States entered , but left the war early in 1918. After this time, was allowed in the United States, after being prohibited for about 140 years. In the 1930s, the United States, along with many other countries, was going through a depression, which eventually became known as the . This lasted up until the late 1930s or early 1940s. At the start of , the United States had managed to remain neutral, but after the Empire of Japan had attacked in 1941, the United States became involved and fought alongside the until the war's end in 1945. Immediately after World War II, the United States had become conflicted with the Soviet Union, which marked the beginning of the . This ended in 1991, due to the disestablishment of the USSR. In 1955, the was enacted to stop in the United States. It became successful in 1968, and the United States has remained unsegregated since. In 1991, the United States assisted the in the against Iraqi forces led by , ending in a coalition victory. On September 11, 2001, managed to hijack four airplanes and crash two into the and one into killing approximately 3,000 people. The fourth plane was reportedly headed to the , but failed due to a passenger revolt, which caused the plane to crash near , Pennsylvania. These attacks, resulting in the and , were planned by al-Qaeda leader, , who was killed on May 2, 2011 in , Pakistan. Economy Numismatics }} British America :For more information, see Early American currency s from 1777.]] During Britain's early rule over British America, three general types of currency were circulated: commodity money, coins, and banknotes. The commodity money was used when money was scarce. Examples of such included tobacco, beaver skin, and wampum. Similarly to Britain, money was denominated in pounds, shillings, and pence. Eventually, Colonial currency was introduced, with the values varying through each of the colonies. Eventually, use of the Spanish dollar was introduced to the colonies, and was used alongside the colonial currencies. Eventually, the colonies began issuing banknotes to serve a convenient medium of exchange. During 1690, the Province of Massachusetts Bay created "the first authorized paper money issued by any government in the Western World", which was issued to pay for an expedition in . Soon, other colonies followed the example of Massachusetts Bay, issuing their own currency in later conflicts. When the began in 1775, the began the issue of Continental currency, which had denominations from 1/6 dollars to 80 dollars, with many odd denominations between. During the revolution, which lasted up until 1873, the Continental Congress issued $241,552,780 in currency. Federal state After the American Revolution's end in 1783, the declared the United States a federal state. The country, having been a during its first years, had the states issue their own currency. In 1876, the idea of the dollar was approved by Congress, and in 1792, the United States Mint began producing coins. These were pegged to the Mexican peso, which was also circulating in the country during the time until 1857. The first coins struck were silver Flowing Hair half-dollars. During the , the United States issued the Demand Note ("Greenback"), which ceased issuance in 1862. Afterwards, the United States introduced the United States Note, which was circulated until 1971. These were replaced by Federal Reserve Notes, which are still found in circulation today. The United States on foreign currency commemorating the September 11 attacks.]] The United States has been referenced often on foreign currencies. Many of these instances are on commemorative coins related to international sporting events, such as the 1990 Afghanistan 100 afghani coin for the United States' (football) championship against Italy that year. Less commonly, coins commemorate tragic events of the United States, such as a 2001 10 ruble coin from Spitsbergen, which used the September 11 attacks to demote terrorism. A countries coins and banknotes are sometimes produced within the United States for use in that country. Several times throughout history, the United States Mint has minted coins for other countries and its dependencies (such as the Philippines). Similarly, banknotes have also been printed for foreign use, most notably by the American Banknote Company. References Category:United States Category:North American countries